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In addition to being victimized, I also made numerous poor choices. Don't think he didn't use those against me as well.

Thankfully, God has taught me volumes, and I am no longer easy prey. Still, I will always have to be on guard because I have a past that other, less vulnerable believers don't have.

If we don't let God deal with every part of our pasts--hurts, secrets, errors in judgment, mistakes or sins--any one of them can be like a hibernating bear. Satan, the prowling lion, stalks the mouth of the cave, waiting for just the "right" season.

What To Do About The Past Beloved, Satan plays hardball. When we have a disaster, we can count on his being right there confronting us at our weakest point.

The very thing Satan used against me was precisely that I had not done anything about my past! We can take our pasts to Jesus. We need Him to take full authority over them so that they are no longer a playground for the enemy.

God longs to let us see our pasts against the backdrop of His glory. Let Him redeem every bit of your past, not just the injustices but the willful sins and the excruciating losses (see Ps. 130:7).

For 30 years Satan used my past in various ways until I allowed God to snatch it from him and use it for Himself. I have given God permission to take every one of my memories captive to Christ.

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Now I see my abuses and sins in the forgiving, nail-scarred hands of Jesus where He is cleansing them and transforming them into the stuff of mercy. Now, God uses them every single day in ministry, in parenting and in friendships.

Satan targets sincere believers through their sins as well as their weaknesses. One of the times when Satan used my sins against me, I had already repented of them. But I had never asked God to heal me completely, redeem my past, sanctify me and help me to forgive myself.

Until I allowed God to take full authority over them, my past sins were still areas of vulnerability where Satan could prey. Thank goodness, they're not anymore, and yours don't have to be, either.

God is so inconceivably faithful. Hear His tender voice speak to you now. "'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid'" (Matt. 14:27).

I've learned to give Him full authority over my past and bring every part of it under His wings and into His possession. Trust God with every inch of your past, present and future. Because until you do, you are susceptible to seduction.

Beth Mooreis a writer and teacher of best-selling Bible studies whose public speaking engagements carry her all over the world. She's also the founder of Living Proof Ministries. A dedicated wife and mother of two, Moore lives in Houston with her husband, Keith.

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